Phi 200 - Can God and Real Evil Be Reconciled

Can God and Real Evil be Reconciled

Rebecca Meza

PHI 200

Doug Stave

April, 25 2011

Where do angels came from, more importantly Lucifer who is called Satan? Where does evil come from? Did God create evil? Since there is evil in the world does that mean that He is not as great as He thinks He is? The most important question is, if God did create evil then can God and real evil be reconciled? What is meant by "can?" Does it mean that reconciliation is possible, or does it mean that they will be reconciled? Is God really omniscient, or all knowing? In this essay I will shed some light on these questions. It is my personal opinion that God and real evil can never, or will ever, be reconciled.

Since Satan was one of God's angels we need to clarify where angels came from. The Bible does not specify when or how angels came to be. We do know that they were already in existence when God made the earth. Job 38:4-7 says, "Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? Declare, if thou hast understanding. (5) Who hath laid the measures thereof, if thou knowest? Or who hath stretched the line upon it? (6) Whereupon are the foundations thereof fastened? Or who laid the corner stone thereof; (7) When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy" (KJV) According to Chris Bishop (Organic Faith, 2009) "This passage (Job 38:7) indicates that angelic spirits (sometimes known in Scripture as sons of God or morning stars) were present when God established the form of the earth and set the boundaries of the waters. These spirits served as a heavenly cheering section, which is one of the main functions of angels in both the Hebrew Scriptures and the New Testament." Since angels were created by God we need to go to the next question, "Did God create evil?"

We already know that Satan is the prince of darkness and that he tempted Eve. So, is Satan the one who brought evil into the world, or was it Eve? Satan knows a humans weakness and that is the area that he attacks. Eve, or woman, was made to be man's companion, but not the authority figure. Satan knew this and that is why he chose to tempt her first, because he knew that she would be more likely to believe him and make the first sin on earth. Adam had no reason to mistrust his companion so he followed her example. Let me explain that the sin was not the fruit itself, but, rather, the disobedience of God's orders. God had told them not to eat the fruit from the tree that was in the middle of the garden otherwise they would die, and eating this fruit is exactly what they did. God was testing human's faith from the very beginning, and, even though He knew they would fail, He created us anyway. That leads to another thought, if God planted the tree knowing that man would sin, did God intend for evil to be on earth?

According to Richard Deem (Did God Create Evil, 2005) "One of the most common reasons skeptics reject the existence of God is due to the presence of evil in this universe. They reason that a perfect God would not create a universe in which evil exists." Sometimes this is a question that even new born Christians have a hard time with. There have been times that I have been angry with God for allowing evil things to happen in my life. God does not promise us a perfect life just because we follow Him. It is hard to swallow, but in Colossians 1:16 God says, "For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in the earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him." (KJV) When God created the earth he created the light and the darkness, sea and land, earth and heaven, and man and woman. Since God is totally perfect there needed to be a totally evil. According to Timothy James O'Hearn (What Does the Bible say, 2011) "You ask why Lucifer would want to revolt if there is no evil? Again there is the matter of free will. Evil is not the opposite of good. It is the choice not to do good. When Satan made that choice, evil came into being. It was not created by God, but God allowed the possibility of its existence in His creation." Timothy believes that angels have just as much free will as us humans do. I had often wondered how it was possible that an angel of God was able to become the prince of evil. I thought angels were not capable of doing anything wrong. It makes sense that angels have free will or else they would be perfect, an equal to God and Jesus. No one can be as good as God, no one. God had to have allowed evil in His world, and there has to be consequences for our wrong choices. This, in God's eyes, is called justice, God's justice for our wrong doings. God tells us what happens to Lucifer in the end days, Lucifer's punishment for his wrong doings. In Revelation chapter 12 it says that a great red dragon took a third of the stars from the heavens. The stars represent the angels. Later in the chapter it says that, "The great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him." (KJV Revelation 12:9) From this we know that the "great red dragon" is Satan, and that he was able to convince, or deceive, a third of the angels into coming with him. Lucifer (Satan) was "the anointed cherub that covereth; and I have set thee so..." (KJV Ezekiel 28:14) Ezekiel goes on to say that Lucifer was an angel of beauty, and because he let that knowledge boost his ego he became prideful. (vs. 17) The Lord says, "Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall." (KJV Proverbs 16:18) Lucifer let pride get in his way instead of being content with how the Lord made him. Isaiah 12:12-15 says, "How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! How art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations! For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High. Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit." Just like the angels God gave us free will so that we could choose who we were going to follow. In Greek Mythology a woman by the name of Pandora allowed evil into the world, not God. She was also the first woman to be created by Zeus, not God. The other gods granted Pandora with gifts of beauty,